Neighborhood Guide: Lincoln Square

A block north of the Western Brown Line stop, you'll find a family-friendly collision of worlds. Time and continents get confused at the crossroads where Lincoln Avenue runs into the intersection of Lawrence and Western avenues. Staring down the street bearing his name, a statue of Abraham Lincoln...

Worth a trip: Lumpia Shanghai at Isla Pilipina2501 W. Lawrence Ave. Unit D 773-271-2988 It's not so much a restaurant as it is a movement. When Ray Espiritu took over the Lincoln Square restaurant Isla Pilipina from his parents six years ago, it was very traditional, serving mostly expat Filipinos....

Worth the trip: Grits at Baker Miller4610 N. Western Ave. There are restaurants, and then there are respites. It's tough to say whether Baker Miller, a newish Lincoln Square shop from the former Bang Bang Pie Shop partners Dave and Megan Miller is a restaurant. They bill it as a bakery and millhouse,...

One of the best drinks at Lincoln Square's Gather is the deep-red Overnight Sensation ($10), which combines Tito's vodka, lime juice and a touch of simple syrup with muddled raspberries and blackberries for a sip that's crisp and refreshing, not overly tart or sweet. The flavors play off one another...

The shop: This tidy and merrily-decorated Lincoln Square gem is an independently- owned neighborhood favorite and frequent venue for Chicago book-signings and readings events. The contagious energy of owner Suzy Takacs and her fun-loving staff is clear in the lighthearted, and silly signs placed...

After opening The Berkshire Room in River North nearly two years ago, Benjamin Schiller is about to launch a new craft cocktail bar, this time in Lincoln Square. The Sixth (2200 W. Lawrence Ave.), slated to open in August on Lawrence Avenue, next to a new outpost of Roots Handmade Pizza, will be...

Elizabeth, the restaurant, is not quite a year old, but recent changes by chef/owner Iliana Regan have made the dining experience drastically different. And I like every single change she has made. Most notably, Regan has revamped Elizabeth's seating, a source of contention among critics and customers....

Before Lincoln Square's Davis Theater closed in mid-January of this year, it was charmingly decrepit. Carpet was tearing in some spots, seats were uncomfortable and even the floor was wonky, but that was all OK, because it was from another era: 1918, to be precise, when it opened as the Pershing...

Catfish tacos: At Luella's Southern Kitchen in Lincoln Square, the tea is sweetened, the chicken is fried and the employees represent the ideal of Southern hospitality. Chef/owner Darnell Reed, who previously worked as a chef for Hilton Worldwide, named the restaurant after his great grandmother,...

Lincoln Square was once the epicenter of Chicago's German population. While those roots still run deep, the neighborhood now houses businesses and restaurants catering to people from around the world. Marked by its cheerful turquoise arch and tree-lined, parking-friendly streets, Lincoln Square...